Pages

2013 NBA Playoff Preview and Predictions

With superstars littered throughout playoff teams and
exciting back-stories to virtually all series, the 2013 NBA playoffs are
certainly shaping up to be entertaining and exciting. While the eventual fate of the
playoffs falls into the hands of the likely MVP LeBron James and the Miami
Heat, (almost) all series should prove to be exciting and very few teams will
dominate their opponent.

Some of the bigger stories to follow and see how they
unfold: can the Lakers overcome Kobe Bryant’s injury and Dwight Howard take
over the reins in Los Angeles? The Lakers finished the season on a five-game
win streak and Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard appear to be clicking without Kobe.
Another major story: can the Thunder win in the playoffs without Harden? And
how will a Harden vs. Durant-Westbrook first round go? Much has been said about
whether or not OKC should have kept Westbrook over Durant, and now the
magnifying glass returns to the athletic point guard in Oklahoma City.

Of course, Carmelo Anthony’s perennial playoff struggles
will also be something to focus on. Melo has been an impressive regular season
performer—and recently beat out Kevin Durant for the 2013 scoring title—but can
he do it in the playoffs? He certainly has the surrounding pieces, and his legacy may be on
the line this year as much as LeBron James’ was last year.

As mentioned
earlier, the No. 1 story is clear: can anybody beat Miami? And how much does San
Antonio have left in the tank? The Spurs finished the season with a three-game
losing streak…a far-cry from their ten-game win streak at the end of the 2012
season. A final major story: what Clippers and Nuggets teams will show up in
the playoffs? Both teams have had periods of incredible success and are coming
into the playoffs relatively hot, so can that continue that when it matters most?

Here is how I see some of those stories and the 2013 NBA
playoffs panning out:

Round 1 Games

Western Conference

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs.
(8) Houston Rockets

It will be very interesting to see if the Rockets can run
with OKC, but ultimately this series should not be much of a competition. The Thunder
have experience and talent on their side and barring an incredible meltdown
should be able to overpower their former teammate, James Harden.

Prediction: OKC wins, 4-1

(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7)
Los Angeles Lakers

In my mind, San Antonio is the biggest question mark going into
the playoffs. They have not played very well of late which certainly has the
potential to carry over into the playoffs. Duncan’s minutes have also been very
limited this entire season and it’s difficult to see how he could play extended
minutes in the playoffs, especially against the duo of Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard. On the other hand, when the playoffs come
around, San Antonio always seems to show up and prove any doubters and nay-sayers
wrong. This series will last six or seven games and in the end, I think the
Lakers have a shot at pulling off a big upset. Dwight and Pau have been
clicking of late and Duncan and Parker average less than 35 minutes a game
each. The Lakers got hot at the right time.

Prediction: Los Angeles wins, 4-3

(3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6)
Golden State Warriors

This should also be a very entertaining series. The raining threes show that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson can put on is something
that can be nearly unstoppable at times. The Nuggets, however, owned the NBA’s
best home record at 38-3 this season. If the Warriors can play defense like
they have in the final games of the regular season and continue to nail outside
shots, the wild West is in for another upset.

Prediction: Golden State wins, 4-3

(4) Los Angeles Clippers vs.
(5) Memphis Grizzlies

Ironically, the four vs. five seed game will likely be less
competitive than either the two vs. seven or three vs. six seed games. Lob City
is rolling and Memphis always seems to choke in the playoffs. It would be
tragic if Los Angeles finished the season that they started off so well with
with a first round loss—and that should not happen.

Prediction: Los Angeles wins, 4-2

Eastern Conference

(1) Miami Heat vs. (8)
Milwaukee Bucks

Not much to say here. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh will handle
Monta and Brandon Jennings with ease.

Prediction: Miami wins, 4-0

(2) New York Knicks vs. (7)
Boston Celtics

Like Popovich, I would never cast out the coaching ability
of Doc Rivers in the playoffs. Clearly New York has the better player personnel
but Boston has the been-there-done-that attitude and found a way to get into
the playoffs without their superstar point guard, Rajon Rondo. In the end, however, I
will keep with my theme of out with the old in with the new. KG’s
limited minutes won’t be enough to slow down the 2013 NBA scoring champion.

Prediction: New York wins, 4-3

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6)
Atlanta Hawks

Like Memphis, Atlanta has a knack for playing teams very
well in the first round of the playoffs but are just never able to pull off the
series win. Indiana played Miami well in the 2012 playoffs and their core group
is still together. With one of the NBA’s best defenses, the Pacers will win
this series relatively comfortably.

Prediction: Indiana wins, 4-2

(4) Brooklyn Nets vs. (5)
Chicago Bulls

As great as the Chicago Bulls have played without their MVP
point guard, Derrick Rose, it won’t be enough come the playoffs. Brooklyn has
Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and a force down-low in Brook Lopez. While none of
that trio has been particularly impressive on their own in playoff situations,
the combination of the three will be enough for Deron Williams to beat his
former teammate, Carlos Boozer, and the Chicago Bulls.

Prediction: Brooklyn wins, 4-3

Conference Semifinals

Western Conference

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs.
(4) Los Angeles Clippers

Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins will help showcase their roles for OKC in this conference semifinal matchup and keep Blake Griffin from throwing down
many Chris Paul alley-oops. Durant and Westbrook will provide the brunt of the
scoring load and they will prove that they don’t (yet) miss James Harden.

Prediction: Oklahoma City wins, 4-2

(6) Golden State Warriors vs.
(7) Los Angeles Lakers

Six seed vs. seven seed…you probably didn’t expect that but
there is certainly a legitimate possibility that three California teams advance
to the second round of the playoffs. A Golden State vs. Los Angeles matchup
will be very interesting because the Lakers will struggle to stop the outside
shooting of the Warriors and the Warriors will have trouble with Gasol and
Howard on the inside. In the end, Bogut, D-Lee, and Festus Ezeli will provide the interior
defense needed to muffle LA’s duo and if Curry and Klay can hoist up threes with success similar to their regular season performance, this
“We Belong” team can advance a round further than the 2007 “We Believe” team.

Prediction: Golden State wins, 4-3

Eastern Conference

(1) Miami Heat vs. (4) Brooklyn
Nets

Again, barring an incredible surprise, the Heat road to the
conference finals should be smooth sailing if they don’t take anything for granted.
I don’t see that happening after the scare that Indiana gave them last year.
They know what it takes to win in the playoffs.

Prediction: Miami wins, 4-1

(2) New York Knicks vs. (3)
Indiana Pacers

A Knicks-Pacers series will be a fun one to watch as
strength battles strength. Can the Knicks great offense beat the Pacers stellar
defense? My thoughts: Carmelo realizes what these playoffs mean and it is
his time to prove he is more than a great regular season performer.

Prediction: New York wins, 4-3

Conference Finals

Western Conference

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs.
(6) Golden State Warriors

As much as I would like to say that the Warriors can earn a
trip to the Finals, one year together (really less because of Bogut’s injury)
is not enough to beat a perennial championship contender. Unless Westbrook
makes some bone-headed decisions like he did in last year’s NBA Finals, this is
the Thunder’s series to lose. If the shots fall for Golden State and Bogut
solidifies the interior, the series may go to six or seven games but otherwise
look for the Thunder to return to the Finals.

Prediction: Oklahoma City wins, 4-1

Eastern Conference

(1) Miami Heat vs. (2) New
York Knicks

This is the battle of the 2003 NBA Draft as four of the top
five picks fight for a trip to the NBA Finals—LeBron James (1st overall pick), Carmelo
Anthony (3), Chris Bosh (4), and Dwyane Wade (5). Melo should give Miami more
than an easy walk-through but like their previous series, the Heat will take
care of business in the conference finals.

Prediction: Miami wins, 4-2

NBA Finals

Miami Heat (1) vs. Oklahoma
City Thunder (1)

Just as I stuck with
my preseason predictions for the NBA Finals matchup, I’m also doing so for the
NBA champion. If OKC cannot beat Miami with Harden, then they definitely cannot
do so without Harden. While it is probably legitimate to say that an OKC team
minus Westbrook would have a tough time against the Big Three in Miami, too,
what the Thunder have now is not enough to win a championship. Like last year, LeBron
will take home regular season and NBA Finals MVP honors en route to a second
consecutive title for the Heat.

10 comments:

You disagree with my prediction of OKC beating HOU by one game - maybe two. It's hard to tell with that one because you literally mentioned three different possibilities in one which isn't really a prediction (you said OKC in 6, OKC in 7, and possibly HOU in 7). As for the Warriors, I'm not sure how you are so confident the Nuggets will beat them. Have you seen Steph and Klay shoot? Bogut's defense of late? Jarrett Jack nailing clutch shot after clutch shot? The Warriors defense is better than the Nuggets, it's just a matter of if they can put it together on defense. On that note, the Warriors had more than any team in the 3PT era. That's incredible.

As first you said that Bulls maye wont go to the Playoffs but here they are at 5 spot. I really bealive that they will defeat Brooklyn. They show lot of power this season even without D Rose and I do anyone know when is he coming back?

As first you said that Bulls maye wont go to the Playoffs but here they are at 5 spot. I really bealive that they will defeat Brooklyn. They show lot of power this season even without D Rose and I do anyone know when is he coming back?

In my preseason predictions, I had them make the playoffs - I was doubtful for sure because they were without D-Rose but I figured they'd pull it off, which they did. And they certainly have a shot at beating Brooklyn but Game 1 was not a good sign for the Bulls considering they lost by nearly 20.

As for Rose's return, I don't think anything is out for certain but my personal guess would be that he will return at the beginning of next season.

In my preseason predictions, I had them make the playoffs - I was doubtful for sure because they were without D-Rose but I figured they'd pull it off, which they did. And they certainly have a shot at beating Brooklyn but Game 1 was not a good sign for the Bulls considering they lost by nearly 20.

As for Rose's return, I don't think anything is out for certain but my personal guess would be that he will return at the beginning of next season.

Well you got a point there but I had disagreements with the numbers of games that were going to be played, guess it wasn't that important. Anyways some of your predictions are turning out to be correct (MIA-MIL) and the other ones are progressing in your favor except for the Bulls-Nets series, so far that one and the Nuggets-Warriors series have been the more exciting to watch even tho I didn't expect the Bulls-Nets series to be exciting. Going back to the point of your argument, you're right I think I did not disagree with the results, but with the number of games played in each series, about the Houston-OKC Series I just mentioned that they could win 2 games, maybe 3 with enough luck, so you could basically say that my prediction was OKC in 6 (The upset comment was just a tiny possibility, didn't really expect that to happen but it's playoffs so you never know). I know this reply may sound a little influenced because the playoffs started already and some series have been decided, but yeah I think we get the point.

Do you hаvе a spam pгoblem on thiѕ wеbsitе; I also am а blogger, and I waѕ сuriοus аbout уоuг situatіоn; many of us haѵe dеveloped sοmе nіce ρrocеdures and we are loοκing to eхchange teсhniques wіth other fοlks, pleаse shoot mе an е-mail іf inteгestеd.